Monday, November 10, 2014

PM inspects food reserves in Dodoma

Prime Minister
Mizengo Pinda on Thursday this week inspected food reserves which are located
at Kizota area on the outskirts of Dodoma town as part of his implementation of
a promise he issued two weeks ago that, the government is intending to
construct large food reserves in six regions. A statement issued by Prime
Minister’s Office yesterday in Dar es Salaam said that, the construction of
food reserves in these regions would be facilitated by help of a loan to be
given by the government of Poland through their investor effectively starting
as from January next year. Speaking with regional leaders and officials from
National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) who accompanied him in his tour, the PM
said that, the government is intending to construct big food reserves known as
SILOS each one would accommodate 100,000 tones of cereals. “Once we get larger
food reserves enough to accommodate 100,000 tones of cereals, we are sure of
taking food reserve from the neighbouring regions of Singida, Tabora and
Manyara”, the Premier said. The statement noted that, in his tour, the PM was
accompanied by Witold Karczewski , a Poland national who owns a large industry which
packs cereal foodstuffs which Premier Pinda visited when he toured the country
in October 24 this year. The investor Karczewski also owns the industry which
manufactures raw materials used for the construction of SILOS. Delivering a
report to the Prime Minister, the Central Zone Director for NFRA Ruwaichi
Mambali said that, the Kizota centre is equipped with food reserves which are
able to accommodate 30,000 tones in three food reserves which each one
accommodates 10,000 tones of cereals. On his part, an investor from Poland
Karczewski wanted to know the infrastructure which is there at6 Kizota
including the distance how is it linked with railways or road, he also was
eager to know the vastness of the area in terms of kilometers. He however
stressed that, if he could get the site map on time, he would send his experts
next year to look at the possibility of starting the construction work earlier
enough once they accomplish with contractual agreements with him.

Tanzania's Prime Minmister Mizengo Pinda

Two weeks
ago, on his arrival in the country, the Prime Minister made it clear in a press
conference that, he had gone to Poland to seek for a strategic investor and a
kind of a loan system that would guarantee favourable conditions for repayments
to enable the construction of food reserves on which to keep cereals in the
country. He said the government has targeted six regions for the start which
includes Ruvuma, Njombe and Iringa where there is abundant production of maize
crops. Other places the premier noted is along the lake zones in regions which
are faced with food scarcity. He further clarified that, the government is
strategizing the construction of food reserves in Dodoma region being the
centre of the country to serve as a strategic point for other regions
surrounding it. “The government aim is to get food reserves which are able to
accommodate from 700 tones of cereals to 1,000,000 tones”, the PM said adding
that, the government has proposed to have larger food reserves which looks like
SILOS because these facilities are equipped with the modern technological equipments
that identifies the number of cereals kept inside. He said this year’s
production of cereals in the country has recorded 1.5 million tones, out of
which 800,000 is rice compared to the surplus of 300,000 tones which was recorded
last year. In view of this, however the PM said that, the government is facing
a challenge of getting reliable markets for the produced cereals although the
government had largely became so independent for theNFRA as a prime purchaser and yet it has the
ability to accommodate only 240,000 tones per year.

AWARD 1

I won the second prize in policy category of the African Information society Initiative ( AISI) awards 2004 which is annually organized by the United Nations- Economic Commission for Africa ( UNECA) based in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia. On the first photo above standing with other awardees after the Ceremony at the National Settlers monument in Grahamstown, South Africa.This was during the 8th Highway Africa Conference.The second photo shows the cross section of Jounalists from different African countries who attended the ceremony.

AWARD 2

I also won the AISI-GKP/SDC Media Award special reporting on WSIS process and Africa, and conferred with the award in Tunis, Tunisia during WSIS summit in 2005. See the photo above.

AWARD 3

Winner on the Media Competition on writing about " Stigma denial and Discrimination" associated with HIV/AIDS. This was organized by theAssociation of Journalists Against Aids in Tanzania ( AJAAT). On the Photo above President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete of Tanzania, ( then the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation) was the guest of honour during the award giving ceremony.This was at Maelezo auditorium in Dar-es-Salaam September 2005.

AWARD 4

Winner on the Media Competition on writing about "Vulnerable Children" associated with HIV/AIDS This was organized by the Association of Journalists Against Aids in Tanzania ( AJAAT)

AWARD 5

Winner of the National ICT Media Award organized By SWOPNET in the Country. On the photo above Morogoro Regional Commissioner, Brigadier General ( Rt) Saidi Kalembo was the guest of honour during the award giving ceremony which was held at New Sarvoy Hotel in morogoro town.I was awarded a Mobile phone and a tape-recorder.

AWARD 6

I participated in the Media Competition in writing about VCT (Voluntary Counseling and Testing) in Tanzania which was held between July 15th and October 30th 2008 whereby I emerged among the top five winners. The competition was under the program known as “Tanzania bila Ukwimwi inawezekana” which literally means, Tanzania without AIDS disease transmission is possible”. This is a program which was organizedby the Association of Journalists Against AIDS in Tanzania (AJAAT) under TACAIDS funding. In the photo, I am being presented with a certificate of participation by the Chairman of the Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS) Dr. Fatma Mrisho in a colorful ceremony which was held on 22nd December 2008 at Tanzania Information Centre in Dar es Salaam.

AWARD 7

AWARD 8

AWARD 9

I was among the top 17 best selected students who excelled in their final examinations of the 2010/2011 academic year and awarded with the Vice-Chancellor’s prize. I scored 4.5 GPA (First Class) in BA in Journalism. Above I am being given a certificate by the Chairman of the Open University of Tanzania Board of Senate. Standing at the centre facing camera is the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tolly Mbwette. Extreme left partly hidden is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Elifas Bisanda. This occasion took place during the convocation meeting, a day before the graduation day at the prospective permanent headquarter of the Open University of Tanzania which is currently under construction at Bungo-Kibaha in Coast region 40 kilometers away west of Dar es Salaam city.